Re: “Frances Kelsey: Homegrown hero,” Dec. 18.
Thank you for the excellent article about a great Canadian, Dr. Frances Kelsey. I salute her every summer when driving past the school on Shawnigan Lake Road that is named in her honour. She is a wonderful role model for what a government regulator should be: a knowledgeable scientist who has the best interests of the public as the No. 1 priority.
I hope that the story of thalidomide in Canada leads us to do the right thing and promptly support financially the unfortunate Canadians who have been seriously harmed by the lack of due diligence.
My interest in the thalidomide story is based on the fact that I was a young woman living in England from the spring of 1960 to the summer of 1962, during which time I had two pregnancies. Fortunately, I did not know at the time that there was medication for morning sickness or I would probably have been given thalidomide. And thankfully, though born in Vancouver, I was living in England and not in Canada at that time or I might have been prescribed it here.
M.J. Jordan
Sidney
